Not for me unfortunately, but person concerned is looking for either a 2 or 3 star place that's quite CENTRAL... 2/3 star meaning obviously FAIRLY cheapish... Ta!
Sorry - only stayed at the Cipriani. You won't find me slumming it with the commoners.</p> (blaze) </p>
Personally I would recommend staying near the Piazzale Roma which is next to Bus/train stations but away from the crowds of St Marks. Stayed in Canal + Walter Hotel at Easter which was pretty average but then I am told that most affordable hotels in Venice are! It is an unmissable experience but unbelievably expensive. Just try doing a search on travelsupermarket.com.
We stayed in Lido... Can't remember name of the hotel but there are a few reasonable looking ones there. About 10 min boat ride to St Marks Sq.
I love it when people say they want to stay in CENTRAL Venice It is as spread out as you could imagine, but all easily and quickly connected by the Vaporetto boats, which run round the islands in circles, like a tube network. Accordingly somewhere near St Mark's might be seen as 'central', but nowhere near as handy as e.g. Lido, if close to the water's edge & a Vaporetto stop. We stayed at the Giardinetto in Lido, http://giardinetto.hotelinvenice.com/ and I notice that the cheeky ***** have yet again increased their prices - nowhere near as cheap as it once was, though as I suggest above, it is very close to the Vaporetto stop. Use tripadvisor & it's booking engine to get deals on hotels with decent user reviews, then compare rates with travelsupermarket - it's a universal approach that works for any destination to make sure you don't get burnt, and Venice is no different.
